Hamas spokesperson Khalil al-Hayya said yesterday that the terror group is prepared to offer a peace deal to Israel. At first glance, that might sound like a hopeful sign of progress, but when you look into the details of the “offer” you quickly realize that it’s complete nonsense. Speaking to the Associated Press, al-Hayya suggested a scenario where Hamas would not surrender or even pledge to permanently put aside its attacks on Israel. Instead, he said that the Hamas fighters would “lay down their weapons” for a period of up to five years. In exchange for that, Hamas would demand that Israel recognize an Independent Palestinian state existing in both the West Bank and Gaza. In addition, Israel would have to surrender much of its current territory and return to the borders that existed prior to 1967. Israel hasn’t even bothered to comment on the “offer” at this point.
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of cease-fire talks. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction.
But it’s unlikely Israel would consider such a scenario. It has vowed to crush Hamas following the deadly Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the war, and its current leadership is adamantly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state on lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Surely, Khalil al-Hayya must realize that he sounds completely delusional. His is the side that is losing this war and losing it badly. Hamas has no remaining leverage in this conflict except for the hostages, and most observers have concluded that many of them are likely already dead. We are expecting Israel to begin its final push into Rafah any day now, at which point they will destroy the last four battalions of Hamas’ original twelve fighting groups. It’s understandable that Hamas may be desperate at this point, but this nonsensical peace offering isn’t going to save them.
And what of the hostages? Would this supposed deal include the return of all of them, including the bodies of the dead? The AP asked al-Hayya about that. He responded by saying, “If we are not assured the war will end, why would I hand over the prisoners?” When asked about the number of people involved, he claimed that he did not know how many of them remained alive at this time.
Demonstrating that they are not serious about a peace deal, al-Hayya also threatened to attack the floating pier being constructed to deliver aid to the Palestinians. He said that the attacks could include strikes at Americans and other workers, saying that they “reject any non-Palestinian presence in Gaza, whether at sea or on land.”
Hamas is also in complete denial in terms of how badly they are losing. Their spokesman boldly claimed that Israel has not destroyed more than 20% of their “capabilities, neither human nor in the field.” He also chillingly suggested that wiping out Hamas’ fighters would not end the conflict, saying, “Let’s say that they have destroyed Hamas. Are the Palestinian people gone?” This is something I’ve been warning about from the beginning. Even if Israel kills all of Hamas’ uniformed fighters, the people of Gaza still broadly support Hamas and seek the destruction of Israel. When their fighters are dead, others will simply take up arms and continue what they’ve been doing for decades. Israel needs to treat the Gaza Strip like a rat hole. It’s never enough to simply kill the rats you see. You have to clean out the nest. Israel should ignore this nonsense and get on with the task of finishing the job they have started. The loss of life is obviously regrettable, but Israel didn’t start this war. They do need to finish it, however.